Of all the implosions we have attended, this one has been our most anticipated and most emotional. We learned of the likelyhood that the Vet would be imploded over three years ago, when plans were being made to build two new stadiums to take its place.

It was the first demolition we have been to that we had some sort of emotional attachement to the building. Our whole family was very into baseball when we were younger. We attended dozens of games at the Vet back in the 80's when Phillies greats Mike Schmidt, Von Hayes, Pete Rose and Steve Carlton were still playing. Vet Stadium was a place of lots of very fond memories for both of us.

We obtained one of the best possible viewing locations for the blast - a room on the 11th floor of the nearby Holiday Inn. The view from our room provided a completely unobstructed view of the stadium. We set up our cameras and turned on the tv to watch KYW 3's hour-long show leading up to the implosion. Although we were as excited for this blast as for any others, the last few minutes became a very emotional time as we said our goodbyes.

The blast took place exactly on time at 7:00 am. The first charges detonated on the north side, and then worked clockwise in our direction. We could hear the detonations well before we could see anything happening. This was definately the slowest and longest succesion of blasts we have seen. It took just over a minute for the whole stadium to fall, giving us plenty of time to watch each section go down and relive the memories we experience there.

The huge dust cloud from the Vet quickly spread to the south and completely enveloped the new Citizens Bank Park. We found some irony in this, like the Vet was somehow directing dying breath towards the new park that took its place. The blast was a huge success and the former stadium was barely recognizable when the dust cleared.

It has been nine months since Phillyblast has been to an implosion due to a lack of activity in the local area. Unfortunately, we missed the implosion of the first three Stella Wright buildings two week prior on April 27, 2002. But, we had a fun time to make up for our long absence watching the final four buildings in the complex come down. We met several "fans" of our website there, including George Nagy, who runs the
implosionsareablast.com site.

The implosion was on time and went according to plan. The most exciting part was the close, unobstructed view we had of it. It was one of the best we've had in close to five years of photographing blasts. These are the final Newark, NJ housing projects to be imploded. New townhomes will be built to take their place.

On the morning of August 18, 2001, Phillyblast travelled to New Brunswick, NJ for the first implosion we know of there. Three apartment buildings along Route 18 were demolished to make room for newer homes. What made this implosion unique for us, was these were buildings we had been familiar with our whole lives. Although it was our 21st blast, it was the first time we watched something familiar to us get imploded.

It was also the first test for our new camera, a Nikon 8008 with a zoom lens and the ability to shoot up to 3.2 frames per second. Our photos were taken from Boyd Park, on the other side of Route 18 from the buildings. Although the camera was positioned on the walking path in Boyd Park between the Raritan River and the canal, the zoom lens was able to get closer to the buildings. The camera worked great, and the beautiful morning weather allowed some nice shots to be taken.

The implosion went relatively well, but there have been reports in the news of debris spilling into Tabernacle Way, and crushing a parked truck. No one was hurt, since the area had been cleared before the blast. A fourth building in the complex had been demolished conventionally before the morning's implosion.

This implosion of two gigantic gas holders is to date one of the most unusual blasts we've ever seen, and photographically speaking, one of the most challenging.

There aren't many gas holders like these left these days, so getting the chance to see them imploded is a special treat. It is believed that less than a dozen are left in this country. These two holders, built by the Brooklyn Union Gas Company, and now owned by Keyspan Energy, are some of the tallest built in the US. The unusual twist for us is that this dual implosion occured in Brooklyn, NY. Despite our proximity to NYC, this is the first time (that we know of) that a major implosion has occured there in the four years we've been folowing the industry.

Unfortunately, we were faced with some unexpected problems the morning of the blast. The motor drive to our 35mm camera (which allows us to shoot 2 frames per second) was discovered to be missing just hours before the blast. It later turned up in a friend's car, but too late to be of any use to us. What it meant was that I had to advance the film manually, which takes a lot of quick action and coordination during a blast. On top of that, we were so close to the holders (just one block away), that it was impossible to fit both into the camera's view at one time. This meant that halfway through the blast (while manually advancing the film), I had to swivel the tripod, lining up a new view for the second holder.

In the end, our photos came out well and the blast was a success. In fact it was one of the most enjoyable we've ever been to, given the unusual nature of the blast, the close proximity we were viewing it from, and the deafening roar of the explosive charges as they ripped apart tons of steel.

This 50-year old low income housing project was the second Philadelphia implosion to occur within the last month. Like most other public housing projects in major cities, it was imploded to make way for a new mixed-income neighborhood of privately owned townhouses.

The weather was a little on the hot and humid side for this implosion, but the skies were sunny, and the wind kept the dust cloud from blowing our way. We were closer than usual, and given that there were no buildings between us and the towers, this implosion was quite loud.

Everything went exactly as planned, and a nearby church and other buildings were not damaged. The buildings were fragmented very well, allowing for easy cleanup of the debris.

Work has finally begun to build two new sports stadiums in Philadelphia; one for the Phillies and one for the Eagles. Both stadiums will be built on the parking lot at the existing sports complex. To accomodate parking for the 2 1/2 year long construction project, a temporary 1500 space lot will be built at the corner of Pattison Avenue & South Broad Street.

Building this lot required the demolition of the 15-story Naval Hospital building and lowrise T-Warehouse on the site. The T-Warehouse was demolished conventionally, while implosion was chosen for the Naval Hospital. After the two months of preparations required, the hospital was successfully imploded.

Weather was on our side the morning of the blast, with comfortable temparatures and a beautiful blue sky. Problems arose, however, in the fact that spectators were kept farther away than usual from the building. Reasons for this are unclear, but the spot we had planned to watch from on Hartranft Street was not accessible, and we were forced to scramble at the last minute to find an alternate location. Our photos were shot from the distant street corner of 16th Street and Packer Avenue.

This was also the second implosion in a row where we've had some bad luck with the camera. This time, the pictures came out somewhat blurry. Even with a high resolution scanner, and some software enhancements, the quality of our photos are disappointing. However, we have to consider ourselves lucky in another sense. Seconds before the implosion, a large bus stopped at the traffic light in front of us, threatening to completely block the view. Our luck held, and the bus did not move again until seconds after the implosion occured.

Only in the last few years have sports stadiums begun to be imploded. Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, formerly home to the Steelers and the Pirates, was the first in this area to go down. Most professional sports teams are in the process of building new stadiums, so this trend is expected to continue over the next few years. It is very likely that Philadelphia's own Veterans Stadium will be imploded a few years from now, after their new stadium is built.

We arrived at Point State Park in Pittsburg at 5:45 that morning. It was dark and cold, but that did not deter tens of thousands of people from doing the same. Many spectators were Steelers and Pirates fans, who had come to bid farewell to the old stadium.

The stadium was imploded at precisely 8:00 am. Fans cheered as it went down, and a brief fireworks display followed. The dust cloud drifted across the river, arriving moments later.

The excessive cold wrecked havoc on our camera. It did not start shooting pictures until the stadium was halfway down, and even those it captured were not fully exposed on the right side. However, we were fortunate to receive additional photos from similar angles by Protec and George Nagy. Thank you very much for your help.

In the final blasts in a series of six public housing demolitions in the city of Baltimore, the Flag House Courts apartment buildings were imploded to make room for new construction. Phillyblast missed the first two, but attended the Murphy Homes implosion in July 1999, Hollander Ridge Tower in July 2000, and
Broadway Homes in August 2000.

Baltimore has now successfully won the race to be the first major city to rid itself of public housing highrises. The current trend in public housing is to replace these highrises with townhouses in hopes of revitalizing blighted urban areas. Cities such as Newark, NJ and Philadelphia, PA are moving in the same direction as Baltimore.

This implosion was a nice change of pace as far as Newark implosions are concerned. The previous three blasts at the Hayes Homes buildings were all identical except for the similar looking Senior Center. The upcoming Stella Wright ones are much like the Hayes Homes. Hill Manor was a nice break between the two projects. This light colored "Y-shaped" buildings was unlike any other building implosion we've seen. It fell in three separate parts. First, the wing nearest us fell away from the rest of the building. Then the wing on the right fell away from the rest, and the left wing fell towards the center of where the building used to be. It was done in this sequence so that it would fall away from an occupied building across the street from it.

First opened on December 20, 1971, this tower was the only highrise building in a neighborhood which also contained fourteen lowrise buildings. Like many other public housing projects, it quickly became a magnet for crime and poverty.

Phillyblast had the best seat in the house for the tower's implosion. We were right behind the police barricades at the corner of Caroline & Fayette, looking east towards the tower. It fell straight down, with just a slight lean towards a vacant area by its northeast corner. The blast was a big success, with all the debris well contained.

The tower has now become the tallest building imploded in the city, breaking the previous record that Hollander Ridge Tower set a mere month and a half earlier. At this time, the city has no definate plans for what will take the place of Broadway Homes, but is looking into several options.

Incidentally, today's implosion took place on the fifth anniversary of the implosion of 6 buildings at Lafayette Courts. That was the project that started Baltimore's mission to replace public highrise housing with more livable townhouse type homes.

During the last five years, the city of Baltimore has been busy demolishing old highrise housing complexes to make room for newer affordable housing. The implosion of Hollander Ridge Tower is the fourth in this series of demolitions. Phillyblast missed the first two, but attended the Murphy Homes implosion a year ago. Two more are expected in the very near future - Broadway Homes in August 2000 and Flag House Courts in towards the end of 2000.

The former Hollander Ridge complex consisted of 92 low-rise apartment buildings, with the tower being the only highrise in the neighborhood. This 20 story building was solidly constructed of post-tensioned concrete, and opened to the public in 1976. It's size and irregular shape made for an incredible implosion. The northwest corner was the first to crumble, leaving room for the northeast corner to fall into the space it vacated. Finally, the southern wing of the building caved into the center.

To date, this is the tallest building ever imploded within Baltimore city limits. Our photos were taken from a point along 62nd Street, about 1,000 feet southwest of the tower.

After the remaining debris is cleared out, a new Senior Citizen housing complex called Arbor Springs Village will be built on the 59 acre site.

Protec Documentation Services has done an excellent webcast of this implosion. Be sure to check it out:

Ever since it opened on July 27, 1974, this observation tower has been a source of a major controversy. The controversy continues today, even after its demolition. On one side are the historical activists claiming it defaced the location of one of America's most historic Civil War battles. The people on the other side argue that it was a key landmark and source of revenue from tourists.

When it was designed and built, it required what was at the time, one of the most sophisicated computers available. Today, with only minimal preparation and a tiny amount of explosives, it was history in less than 10 seconds.

The July 3 demolition date was chosen to commemorate the historic Pickett's Charge, which many consider the turning point of the Civil War. At a ceremony near the Meade Equestrian Statue, several authentic civil war cannons were fired towards the tower at the exact moment the explosives were detonated. This implosion is considered to be the beginning of a 15 year project to restore the battlefield to it's original state.

While spectacular to watch, the implosion did not go exactly as planned. The intent was to drop the tower by rotating it at it's base. It would fall something like a tree would. From our vantage point across Taneytown Road, it should have dropped to the right side. Instead, it merely tilted a little and fell straight down from there. Fortunately no damage resulted from this, and a nearby historic cemetary was left unharmed.

This was the final implosion at the Hayes Homes housing project, occuring almost 2 1/2 years after the first blast. In total, 11 buildings and 1 smokestack were imploded to clear the land. New low-income townhomes will be built in the near future to take their place.

These photos were taken from Irvine-Turner Blvd. The blast went off exactly on-time, despite a steady rain and low clouds. As a result, the pictures are a little grainy this time, but at least they turned out. From the blaster's perspective, rain like this is very beneficial, as it helps keep the dust cloud from spreading. It dispersed completely well before reaching us.

These photos were taken from the intersection of Front St. & Washington Ave. A light snow was falling on a bitterly cold day, so I took these from underneath I-95, which provided some nice shelter. At 26 stories high, these towers are among the tallest ever imploded in the city, and provided quite an exciting blast. Everything appears to have been successful, and an historic church across the street from one tower survived just fine. The third tower which remains has been renovated and is now apartments for senior citizens. The imploded towers will be replaced with townhouse style apartments.

This was a small but interesting job. While often ignored by the media, smokestack demolitions are just as fun to watch as a large building implosion. Unlike a building which will drop straight down and almost instantly turn to dust, a smokestack will move very slowly at first while it builds momentum. This gives you time to closely observe everything happening with it. The presence of a very minimal dust cloud allows good visibility of the stack during its entire drop to the ground.

While this job initially seems simple, take note of the small boiler house behind the stack. It was a mere 20 inches away from the stack, yet with a carefully controlled blast, it sustained no damage at all.

This building was the only one to be brought down in Phase III of the complex's demolition. The morning was cold with strong gusting winds. The implosion was on time, and despite a small pile of debris that landed in Boyd St., everything appears to have gone as planned. The remaining two apartment buildings on the site will be brought down in the early part of 2000.

These photos were taken from the intersection of Broad & Fitzwater St., a mere block and a half away from the two buildings. The first two buildings to fall were hidden from view, behind the ones shown here. Despite the heavy fog, and a twenty minute delay, the implosion went exactly as planned.

The most noteworthy feature of this implosion, is the fact the it was the first one ever to be broadcast over the internet. This historic netcast was a joint venture between
Protec,
The Philadelphia Housing Authority, and
Netcast Inc.. The 45 minute broadcast included clips on the history of the explosive demolition industry, a look at how these 4 buildings were brought down, and of course the implosion itself. The netcast was a huge success, drawing in thousands of viewers from around the world. More implosion netcasts are anticipated in the future. Continue to check this site for further information.

On December 13, 1997, Dykon took down the first 4 of 10 apartment buildings in the Hayes Homes public housing complex. The implosion pictured here happened on August 28, 1999, when 4 more buildings were taken down in phase 2 of the project. Two more apartment buildings, an administrative building, and smokestack remain and are due to be imploded at a later date.

This implosion was originally scheduled for 9:00 am, but was delayed for just over 2 hours. Once the problem was taken care of, the implosion went off flawlessly. Our photos are taken from a vacant lot on 18th Street. Not only did this provide the best available view, but allowed us to watch the blasters in the field set off the charges. The other unusual aspect, was that despite the beautiful weather, and the large size of the implosion, the crowd of spectators was extremely small. About half of those who orignally showed up, chose not to wait out the long delay to see the blast.

Our 4th of July weekend started out with a bang this year. Phillyblast travelled south to one of the roughest neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland to bring you news of this spectacular blast of 4 apartment buildings. The morning was already oppressively hot and humid, and the haze hung heavy over the city. It took just 20 seconds to reduce these 36 year old highrises to rubble, clearing way for a neighborhood of new townhomes for the city's poor.

This spectacular demolition was a first of a kind. Due to a limited containment zone for debris, and due to the fact that the construction would not fragment well, the blaster decided to remove only the top half of the building in this blast. Visit our Blast Preparations page for a more in depth description of this unusual technique. Implosion morning was overcast, but dry. Everything went exactly as planned, and the building was brought down safely. The remainer of the building will be wrecking balled.

This implosion was pretty run of the mill. This building had been damaged beyond repair in a fire on June 16, 1994. This was the first implosion we had a tripod to mount our camera on, so we were able to capture some spectacular shots of it going down. The above photo was taken standing in the middle of 6th Street looking towards Forster & Commonwealth. We were very lucky to be immediately behind the police barriers, so nobody got in the way of a clear shot.

This picture was taken from Penn Treaty Park as the first charges went off at 8:00 am.
We were filled with excitement as this was our first trip to an implosion. A single "boom"
went off, shattering windows and blowing out a cloud of dust. But as the cloud dissipated,
the building remained standing to everyone's dismay. They sent workers back into the building to set more charges, and they tried again around 9:30 am. Once again a "boom" was heard, but the building still stood its ground.

With the explosives demolition a failure, they brought in heavy equipment and tried pulling
the building to the ground by wrapping cables around the support beams. Six such attempts
were made between 10:30 am and 8:00 pm. Most produced no effect at all. Several made
some eerie sounds as internally the building was ripped apart. Small bits of rubble cascaded
down the building's side, and one pull resulted in the entire left side sagging down about
a third of a floor.

Around 9:00 pm, workers were using spotlights to inspect the building to determine if it was
safe to go back inside to reattch the cables. At 9:02 pm, the building gave way on its own and came crashing to the ground. It fell silently, making no sound, and kicking up no dust until it hit the ground. We were one of the lucky few to see it fall after enduring 13 hours of waiting. Fortunately, no one was injured when the building gave way.

After the 13 hour ordeal we went through with the first Jack Frost implosion, you would think we would have given up on the hobby. But instead we was craving more, and that brought us back to Penn Treaty Park to watch the rest of the old sugar refinery imploded. That morning was cloudy, misty and cold. But this time the implosion went exactly as planned.

From my vantage point, there was a lot going on. The back left corner of the building dropped down first. As the front of the building folded towards the back, the two steel smokestacks dropped towards me, and the brick smokestack fell over to the left. The dust cloud was minimal, as it started pouring rain after the building was down.